Being an architect of one of the most revered eras in hip-hop comes with a price. Not only is every move scrutinized and every progressive step analyzed to ensure its hip-hopness, but one is expected to speak for an entire generation, and sometimes, the entire landscape of hip-hop. For Showbiz of the legendary Diggin’ in the Crates crew, that burden is never too much to bear. The producer behind classics like “Sound of da Police” and “Soul Clap” while proclaiming the greatness of “Panda” doesn’t feel any pressure, and that’s because he can stand behind what he’s done and knows where he’s going. Whether it’s helping put together his team’s BPM web series or executive-producing the new D.I.T.C. project Studios or O.C.’s upcoming album Same Moon, Same Sun, one can rest easy knowing Show is doing any and everything except mailing it in. In this exclusive interview, Showbiz talks about his role on the new Studios album, how he’s grown as a producer, his production techniques, and much more.

It’s been a long time coming, but the new Diggin’ in the Crates album, Studios, is here. What are your thoughts on how Studios came out?

I executive produced the album, so of course I’m very satisfied with the outcome. It took me a couple of months to put it together and I’m happy with the way it came out it did. I’m very excited about it and we’ve been getting very good reviews on it.

When you look at executive producing an album like this, do you feel any pressure, especially with how long fans have been asking for a new Diggin’ in the Crates project?

From holding down the bulk of emceeing, along with partner in rhyme A.G., on his crew’s long-awaited new project, Studios, to a gang of new albums coming in the next couple of years, Omar Credle hasn’t even had time to stagnate, much less consider it. Thanks to an impressive range of verses on the new Diggin’ album Studios, O.C. shows why he’s one of the game’s most consistent. In this exclusive interview, we talk the new album, his creative process, why he can’t remake Word…Life and much more.

I love how you started off the Studios album with the first verse. Your first line is “We’ve still got the game in a noose.” Did you know that’d be how the album would start?

Not at all. That was something, you know, Show is like the orchestrator when it comes to the music and the tracklisting and stuff like that. He runs it by us, usually, when he puts together a tracklist. But I didn’t know it was going to start the album off outside of the Big L intro, nah.

That seems like a really fitting way to start it though.

Right. I mean, it is what it is. You know, at the end of the day, I played my position and do what I do and everybody has a position in the crew, even L. L still has a position. He’s not here physically, but anything that we can implement with him and his voice, obviously, is dope.

When you look at Diggin’ in the Crates and still being on top of your game, do you feel like with this album, you’re at your lyrical best?

Ron Browz is one of those producers who everyone should be talking about. Few have laid down as many consistent bangers as the Etherboy, going back to the Big L days to Nas’s “Ether” to 50 Cent, Nicki Minaj, and Ludacris. Most recently, Browz has laid down bangers for Method Man, Papoose, and Remy Ma, while focusing on his own label, Etherboy Records, and his artists on the label, Belle and Mani Miles. Whether he’s producing for an A-list MC like Method Man or Papoose or breaking an artist like Belle, Browz’s production is consistently dope. We caught up with Ron to talk about his recent work, making the “Ether,” and much more.

“I make wax, I pay tax, I don’t show cracks,” OC rapped on “Constables,” one of the many standout cuts off his debut album Word…Life. Nearly twenty years after that seminal album dropped, OC’s stayed true to those words, releasing a slew of albums showcasing his lyrical acrobatics with a variety of talented producers, including Soul Supreme, Apollo Brown, and most recently, Ray West.

O’s latest album, Ray’s Cafe, a pairing with producer/engineer and co-head of the recently created boutique label Red Apples 45 Ray West, provides jazz-infused backdrops that compliment Omar Credle’s smooth baritone. In a rare interview with HipHopGame, the legendary OC talks about the making of Ray’s Cafe, reflects on Word…Life and the moves he’s made, his immortal crew Diggin’ in the Crates, and much more in this can’t-miss interview.